


Ignoring a Cut Doesn't Stop the Bleeding

by funhousefreak



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: David feels guilty, First Kiss, M/M, Max gets tired of pretending nothing's off, Max is 22 and out of college, Maxvid - Freeform, friends-to-lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-04
Updated: 2017-09-04
Packaged: 2018-12-23 22:22:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11999121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/funhousefreak/pseuds/funhousefreak
Summary: 12 years after Camp Campbell, Max and David have remained in touch and even struck up a friendship. But for the last few years, something has been developing between them that neither one of them wants to admit to. Until one night when Max gets tired of pretending nothing's changed.





	Ignoring a Cut Doesn't Stop the Bleeding

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! So, I've had this idea in my head for a while, but it was my friend Anne who convinced me to actually write it (thanks, love <3!) I wrote this a while back, but have been afraid to post it because of antis and the following I have on my main fic. But, I'm tired of this just sitting on my desktop so here ya go! 
> 
> If I didn't make this clear enough, Max is an adult, at 22 years old, and thus David is 36. Nothing romantic/sexual occurs between them before Max is of legal age. 
> 
> Content warnings for: mentions of past abuse, references to sex
> 
> Enjoy!

David let his eyes drift close, the sound of the rain outside lulling him to sleep. He rested his hands across his chest. The soft patter of the fall storm was soothing, especially after the crazy day he’d had at work. All he wanted now was some sleep, and the rain was encouraging him. But he knew he couldn’t drift off yet; there was one thing he still had left to do for the day. Despite this knowledge, he let out a relaxed breath and settled into the pillow beneath his head.

And so, of course, the universe had to spite him. A loud knock sounded from the front door. David sighed and took a moment to find what little energy he had left in himself to get up. He was grateful though that if anyone had to come over, at least it was someone who demanded little of him, and certainly didn’t require his peppy, camp counselor attitude. He forced his muscles into motion and flung his legs over the side of his bed. He didn’t bother putting on actual clothing; this visitor was used to seeing him in his pajamas, which consisted of an old Camp Campbell shirt and boxers. He drug his feet down the short hallway of his apartment to the front door. He didn’t look out of the peephole—there was only one person who would knock this late.

He swung the door open and smiled tiredly at the damp poof of curly black hair and the striking green eyes that met his gaze. Max looked annoyed, probably from getting caught out in the rain. His jeans were already drenched, and he was dreading the absolute fizzy wreck his hair would be in the morning. Water droplets rolled off every inch of his face and arms. His earrings glinted in the dull light coming from David’s lamp in the apartment.

“Hey, David,” Max greeted as he tried to wring his hair out.

“Hi, Max,” David replied, trying but failing to stifle a yawn. A smirk spread across his visitor’s face.

“Sorry for popping in so late. Neil suddenly decided to sexile me.”

David blushed at the word “sexile” and at the mere idea of his former camper doing anything related to the word “sex.” He shook his head quickly, trying to erase those thoughts from his tired brain.

“It’s fine. You know you’re always welcome here.” He flashed Max a tired grin, and then stepped back and gestured his hand to welcome Max inside.

Max took the offer and stepped in. He slid off his shoes and socks by the door. David had really picked up on the idea of being strictly barefoot in his house when he had gotten his own place. Despite the fact that he’d only ever had shitty apartments, he still wanted to make them his own in his special David ways. Max headed to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. David locked the door behind him and followed him to the kitchen, rubbing at his eyes.

“Sorry, I didn’t set up the couch for you,” David apologized. Max met his eyes, but shrugged in indifference.

“It’s all good. I can grab myself a blanket from the closet.”

“You sure? You could take the bed if you wanted.”

“David.” Max shot him a glare to say “stop trying to fawn over me.” He was an adult—he could take care of himself. “The couch is fine. It’s your fucking apartment. Sleep in your own goddamn bed.”

David smiled softly at the younger man and held his hands up in surrender. “Ok, ok. Let me at least grab you a blanket.”

Max groaned, but didn’t protest. He chugged down the rest of his water while David went to the small linen closet next to the bathroom. He pulled out an old Spiderman blanket from his childhood in the hopes that it would keep Max warm on this rainy, chilly evening. He also grabbed a towel so the poor boy could dry off. He threw the blanket on the couch before handing Max the towel. Max had already washed his water glass and put it in the dish rack to dry. He gave David an appreciative grin when he turned and saw the towel.

“Thanks,” he mumbled, taking the offering. David smiled back at him.

“No problem.” He yawned again, this time feeling his eyes water. “I don’t want to be a bad host, but— “

“Go the fuck to bed, David,” Max scoffed as he dried his hair. “This isn’t exactly my first time here.”

Indeed, it was far from his first time. Max had reconnected with David 6 years ago, when he was 16. He had been desperately in need of a place to stay one night. His parents had just nearly broken his arm, and Nikki and Neil were both out of town. He had called the cell phone number David had given him at the end of camp 6 years before. David had never said why he was giving his number to this angry 10-year-old who had blatantly expressed his hatred for the older man numerous times. Max later suspected it was probably because David had an idea of what his home life was like, and he wanted to help Max in any way he could. Max had never once used the number; indeed, he had feared that it would be defunct by the time he actually tried to call it. But, by some miracle, the other end of the line had come alive with the cheery voice of that unforgettably cheery red-headed man.

David had allowed Max in without question. Max thought he’d leave the next morning and never talk to his old counselor again. But he quickly found himself going over for a place to stay when his parents got angry and violent, when his dad got drunk, when he himself got drunk and/or high. David never once asked him why he couldn’t go home, but he was sure he knew the answer. He’d read Max’s file back when he was a camper. He’d seen the bruises and scars on the child. He’d seen how rude and uncaring his parents had acted when they picked him up. But he promised himself not to pry. Unless Max opened up to him, or unless he showed up on his door seriously injured, he was not going to intervene. He had tried to back at Camp Campbell, reporting all of the suspicious things he’d seen to Mr. Campbell. But his rich, world-traveling boss had never gotten around to doing anything with his reports.

By now, Max was out of school and living with Neil. He had a day job, had escaped his shitty parents’ house, and even had dated a few people. He never told David about what happened at home when he was younger. But he continued updating David on his life and even invited him to his college graduation. He had pretended to be reluctant about the invitation, but David had seen his softer side too many times over the years. He knew Max cared, even if he would never say it allowed. Nowadays, Max just came over for the occasional dinner and catch-up talk, or in the rare case he needed a couch to crash on. He’d never admit it, but somewhere deep down in his brain he considered David a friend.

David smiled tiredly at the younger man. He never really did change, even if he had gotten better at opening up to him. He was still the same sarcastic, foul-mouthed cynic had had had been as a kid. David ruffled his damp hair playfully, earning him a growl.

“Goodnight, Max,” he hummed. He turned around and headed towards his bedroom.

“Fuck you!” Max shouted after him, trying to fix his hair. Not that it made much of a difference; the rain had really taken it for a loop.

He walked into the bathroom and turned the light on. He didn’t bother closing the door, figuring David was in bed for the night. He stripped his wet shirt off, hanging it to dry over the shower curtain rod. He dried his chest and back off. He was about to start undoing his jeans when a thought smacked him in the face.

He had no dry clothes to put on. Shit.

Max groaned quietly, trying not to disturb David in case he’d already fallen asleep. His only options were to sleep naked under that Spiderman blanket or sneak into David’s room and borrow a shirt and some shorts. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d borrowed clothes, but he felt awkward grabbing the clothes without David offering them. It wasn’t like with Neil, where they lived together and shared everything all the time anyways. He considered sleeping naked, but he knew he’d be cold what with his damp hair and the general chilliness of the apartment. He could always get more blankets to help with the cold; still, he just hated sleeping naked under any circumstances. It was just too vulnerable for him.

Resigning himself to his decision, he sighed and set the towel on the toilet seat. He tiptoed to David’s room. The light was off, unsurprisingly; David had seemed really tired. He always left the door open when Max was here, just in case he ever needed anything. Even though Max was now a full-fledged adult, he still kept up the old habit. Max peaked around the doorframe to gauge David’s state of consciousness. His eyes were closed and his chest was rising and falling slowly. He definitely was not fully asleep yet, but he was getting there. He was at the very least very relaxed. Max could probably do this without bugging him…right?

Max tiptoed as quietly as he could, a skill he had acquired from spending years sneaking around his parents. He headed to David’s open closet. He ignored the hanging shirts, which were mostly nicer shirts that David wore to work or for nicer occasions. He noticed a laundry hamper at his feet that seemed to have more casual clothes in it. He couldn’t tell if they were clean or dirty, but at this rate he didn’t really care. As long as they weren’t dripping wet like his own clothes were, he would take them. He grabbed the shirt on the top of the pile, which turned out to be an old Camp Campbell counselor shirt.

 _Of course David still wears this_ , Max thought to himself with an eye roll.

He then busied himself with finding something to put on his legs. Everything he was seeing seemed to be shirts, much to his frustration. He growled lowly as he dug to the bottom of the hamper fruitlessly. Finally, at the very bottom, he felt something that seemed like the material basketball shorts are made of. He pulled it out and, indeed, they were a pair of knee-length basketball sports. Why David owned these, he had no idea, but he was honestly just grateful he wouldn’t have to sleep with his dick hanging freely tonight.

As he stood up to leave, he heard a quiet groan and the sound of sheets shuffling. Max froze, like a thief caught in the act—well, which he sort of was. He stole a glance over at David from the corner of his eye. _Thank god._ It seemed David had just turned over onto his side. He sighed quietly in relief, then made a soundless dart to the doorway. Right as he was about to exit, a sleepy voice called out.

“Max?”

 _Well, shit_.

Max froze, too scared to turn around. He had been so careful! How the hell had David heard him?

“Max, what’re you doing?” David tried again, slurring his words slightly from exhaustion.

Max sighed and turned around to face his tired friend. David’s eyes were just barely squinting, as if he was trying to keep them as close to closed as physically possible. He hadn’t even bothered to sit up. If Max didn’t know better, he’d think David was talking in his sleep.

“Sorry, David,” Max muttered, guiltily holding the clothes by his side. “I realized I didn’t have any dry clothes so I just kinda took some of your’s.”

It took David’s exhausted brain a moment to process what his friend had just said. When it did, he chuckled softly. Max raised an eyebrow, confused.

“That’s fine, Max. You could have asked me to get you some.”

 “You were asleep. I didn’t want to bother you. Looks like that failed, though.”

David chuckled again. “I hope you didn’t go to the laundry hamper. Those clothes are dirty.”

Max glared down at the clothes in his hand. _Of course they are._

“No, I didn’t,” he lied nonchalantly. He turned 90 degrees, ready to change and wanting to let David return to sleep. “Now go back to bed.”

David smiled sleepily. It was so endearing how Max looked after him like this; it was like the counselor had become the camper. He cracked his eyes open a bit more, wanting to properly see Max to say goodnight. He immediately regretted his decision as his face paled when he took in Max’s appearance. He hadn’t realized the young man was shirtless, a site he had seen only a handful of times since Max was a child. And boy, had his torso changed a lot since he was a kid. His arm muscles were well-toned from lifting weights four times a week, the only form of exercise he bothered with. His abdomen was also toned, but he had a bit of fat on his stomach nevertheless, the result of his garbage eating habits. His jeans were soaked and clung tightly to his thighs and calves. His hair was a disheveled mess, a rare site as Max took great pride in keep his hair neat and under control. David felt a blush creep into his cheeks, and he quickly averted his eyes.

_No, no! This is Max. He’s your friend. He was your camper. Come on, snap out of it, David!_

“Go-goodnight, Max,” he finally managed to stammer.

Max turned his head back towards David, taken off guard by his stammering. Despite the dark room, he could see that David was avoiding his glance. He couldn’t see the blush, but the older man definitely looked flustered nonetheless. Max glanced at the clothes in his hand. Had he picked out something weird? Had David masturbated in these shorts? Was this shirt covered in some horrific amalgam of strange substances? He hadn’t seen anything of notice on either article, but that didn’t mean that David didn’t know something he didn’t. He looked back up at his friend’s face, but it didn’t offer any more answers.

“Okayyyyy,” Max drawled, expressing his suspicion and confusion. “Goodnight, David.”

He was about to turn away and return to the bathroom when the slightest movement of David’s eyes caught his attention. His eyes had moved from being fixed to the floor to staring intently at Max, specifically his chest and torso. Max glanced down at himself. His eyes widened with surprise as he remembered he was shirtless. He turned around to face David, realization striking him like a slap to the face for the second time this evening.

David jolted when Max met his gaze. He turned onto his other side, ignoring Max’s presence as best he could. His blush only worsened. God, why had he done that? Why had he reacted like that? Sure, Max was an attractive person, but he was _Max!_ The angry, cynical nihilist who he’d known since he was 10. The boy he’d given a place to crash when his family abused him. The young adult who had become his friend. He shouldn’t be staring at him with anything close to curiosity!

Max continued staring at his embarrassed friend, a mix of emotions flooding him. Part embarrassment, part confusion, and part curiosity. He knew the logical thing was to just leave like nothing had happened and put this awkward moment behind them. But they had done that once, and, as they were witnessing now, it had not resolved the problem. They were both still confused and unsure and curious, even though neither of them wanted to admit that. The first time they were able to blame on alcohol, but they had no such excuse now.

“David,” Max said quietly, his voice almost a whisper. David swallowed a lump in his throat. That voice was never a good sign. From David’s limited experience, it usually was followed by some intimate gesture. And that was the last thing he was wanted to happen right now.

Well, almost the last thing.

David sighed and sat up in bed, rubbing his hands over his eyes. Clearly this wasn’t going to be resolved by ignoring it. “Max, I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I think the long work hours and exhaustion are really getting to me.”

“Don’t lie,” Max said simply. There was no bite to the words, no anger. They were as casual as if Max were asking how he was doing.

“I’m not lying,” David protested. He finally braved himself to steal a look at Max. His stomach dropped out from him as he looked over the younger man. Max was staring intently at him. His face was set perfectly neutral, and David couldn’t help but think this was the first time he’d ever seen that expression. He felt his cheeks heat up again, so he glanced away. “Really, Max, I’m just not thinking straight.”

“The hell you ain’t.” David flushed deeper at the implication of Max’s words. His tone hadn’t been playful or teasing in the slightest, but he had known Max long enough to know that his words were being twisted.

“That’s not what I meant,” he defended, pulling his knees up to his chest.

“No, but it’s true,” Max returned. He took a few steps closer to the bed.

“Max, please,” David sighed. “Just go to bed.”

He took a few more steps.

“Max, stop. This isn’t funny.”

A few more.

“Max, please, just leave,” David pleaded, covering his eyes with his hands.

“How long are we going to keep pretending?” Max finally asked. David felt as if he’d just been stabbed in the chest. His eyes widened and his face paled once more behind his hands.

“We’re not pretending anything,” he mumbled through his hands. “There’s nothing to pretend about.”

“Bullshit,” Max whispered, taking the last few steps to reach the side of the bed.

David removed his hands and sighed heavily. He’d always prayed they would never actually have this conversation. _Way to fuck that one up, Davey._ “Max, we can’t.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. You’re my friend. I’ve known you since you were a kid.”

“And?”

“And so it’s weird for me to think of you like this!” he cried, throwing his hands in the air exasperatedly. “I still remember you as a child, Max. It just feels wrong to…” he pressed his fingers to his temples, searching for a way to phrase this, “to do any of this!”

“I’m not a kid anymore, David,” Max said firmly. David looked up into his vibrant green eyes and felt his heart jump. “There’s nothing wrong about this.”

“I know, but I can’t shake the feeling, Max!” David cried desperately. He wanted Max to stop pushing this. He wanted Max to just drop it and leave and go to bed. He wanted to pretend none of this had ever happened. But he couldn’t deny the part of him that wanted Max to stay and assure him everything was alright.

Max sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. David hoped that would be the end, that he was so frustrated and fed up that he’d just leave. Much to his alarm and disappointment, Max sat down next to him on the bed. His back was turned to David, his legs dangling over the side of the bed. David froze and held his breath, as if he would break the barrier that was holding them back if he moved in the slightest.

“David, for once in your life, can you stop overthinking shit?” Max asked quietly, his eyes fixed on the floor.

“Is it really overthinking?” David shot back skeptically.

“Yes. If you want something, you should just go for it. Stop thinking about what I was like as a kid or what’s going to happen tomorrow. Just live in the moment.”

Max turned his body so that his right leg was mostly on the bed. He didn’t totally face David, but he was able to meet him eyes from his position. David blushed and averted his gaze, once again focusing on his lap.

“Since when are you interested in…this?” David asked, a little harsher than he’d meant.

Max used his right arm to help support his weight, and he situated the arm between David and himself. David wasn’t oblivious to his companion slowly erasing more and more of the distance between themselves.

“You really think what happened four years ago was just a coincidence?” he scoffed. “I don’t just hit on random people when I’m drunk, David. There’s a reason I came here instead of going to Neil or Nikki.”

“Wait.” David closed his eyes and his forehead scrunched in thought. “You came here that night on purpose? I mean, you didn’t _have_ to stay here?”

“No,” Max admitted, turning his body a few degrees closer to David. “I came here because I wanted to see you.”

David’s body tensed and his eyes widened. _So all of that actually had some basis to it? The touching, the kissing, trying to seduce me—it wasn’t all just a complete drunken mistake?_

“The sexier stuff was more the alcohol, but you get the point,” Max added, as if reading David’s mind.

The duo sat in silence for a few beats, the meaning of Max’s words slowly sinking in to David. It hadn’t been a mistake—or, well, not all of it. He had wanted to come over. He had wanted to be with David. Hell, he’d probably wanted to _kiss_ him.

“How much do you actually remember?” David asked, fearing the answer.

“Not a lot. Most of it is hazy and vague. But one thing has always been really clear to me.” Max swiveled around so he was looking directly at his red-headed companion. He leaned his face close to David’s, leaving only a few inches between them. David thought his heart was going to burst. “You kissed me back.”

David flinched as he felt Max’s breath on his face. He put a shaky hand on Max’s shoulder, a plead for him to give him space. Max obliged and leaned back a bit. David ran his hands over his face and groaned. He knew that mistake would come to bite him in the ass someday. He should never had have done that. God, why the hell had he even done it? He had managed to push back all of Max’s other kisses and advances. Why not that last one?

Maybe it was the fact that after having Max drunkenly kiss him numerous times, he had noticed how soft his lips were. Or maybe he was tired of pushing the boy away repeatedly only to have him return, unaffected by his rejection. Maybe it was the fact that Max was undeterred and kept insisting David wanted this, too, and so he’d wanted to do something to get him to shut up. And maybe, finally, something had wormed its way into David’ subconscious after seeing the younger man not give up and after realizing his attempts to deflect the other’s affections were rather weak, and upon realizing that he was pushing Max away more from being taken by surprise and being concerned about Max’s drunken state, and not because he didn’t want him.

“Max, please,” David begged as he lowered his hands. “Look, it was a mistake. Can we just forget about it and move on?”

“No, because I don’t understand, David!” Max cried in frustration. David finally turned towards him, his eyes wide with surprise and concern. Max had been so calm this entire time, a very rare occurrence with him. It had almost lured David into a sense of security, had almost made him forget that he was talking to the single most irritated and cynical person on the planet. “I don’t get why, if we both want this, we can’t just do it!”

“It’s not that easy, Max! For years, you were like…a son to me. And it doesn’t matter that you’re not my son and that we’re not related and that you’re an adult. It still feels wrong!”

Max sat silently for a moment, unsure of what to say. He honestly was surprised with himself and his actions this evening. He knew that, over the last few years, he’d gained more than a friendly interest in his former counselor. He knew his eyes had lingered on him longer than was normal, thought about him at times when no one thinks about someone who’s just a friend. He knew he enjoyed talking and spending time with David more and more. Hell, it’d gotten to the point where Neil had asked him if there was something going on between them. But Max never thought he was really invested in this weird little crush. It should have just been a passing phase, something he’d totally forget about the next time he danced with a hot guy at the club or met a cute girl at the bar. He hadn’t expected himself to actually advocate for something occurring between them.

“Max, I’m sorry,” David finally sighed. He let his body go limp and fall backwards onto the bed. “I just can’t do this.”

Max looked down at him, and two sets of fierce green eyes met each other. Neither one of them was searching for something in the other’s face or trying to pick out a lie. It was more of a challenge. If this was such a done deal, then one of them should make a move to separate themselves. Max waited for an invitation to leave, and David waited for Max to just leave of his own accord. After nearly 20 seconds, it was clear this was a stalemate.

“If you want me to leave, I will,” Max said, breaking the silence. “Just say the word.”

David wanted to open his mouth and just end this, once and for all. But he couldn’t force his mouth to open. He wanted to look away from Max, in the hopes that it might make this easier, but he couldn’t draw his eyes away. Every brain cell was screaming at him to stop this, to stand his ground and not let whatever sort of desires he’d been repressing come out. But he just felt himself melt under Max’s stare as the younger man held his gaze. While disheveled and shirtless, sitting above him. _Oh god._

Max leaned down a few inches, trying to gauge David’s reaction. David didn’t move or say a word: he just continued starting at his companion. Max took that as a sign to continue. He leaned down further, stopping about a foot from David’s face. David swallowed a lump in his throat, but made no further movement. Max gingerly set a hand on David’s chest before pressing their foreheads together. David’s breath hitched and his lips parted slightly.

“David…” Max whispered. It was his way of asking for permission. He knew he’d been pushing David too hard tonight, but he wasn’t about to do anything physical without his consent…again.

David continued to stare at him like a deer-in-the-headlights. His brain was completely switched off by now. He was running off pure emotions and adrenaline. A few seconds later, he nodded slowly. Max just gazed at him another moment, a silent way of asking if he was sure. David nodded again and then closed his eyes softly. Max nodded in understanding before closing the last bit of distance between them.

Max didn’t remember much about their last kiss, but there was a distinct sense of familiarity as he pressed his lips to David’s. He felt like he already knew David’s lips, despite the alcohol impairment and nearly half a decade of time passage. The smoothness of those lips, the warmth of the flustered man beneath him, the gentleness of this fresh beginning—it all stuck Max in the chest and sent a flood of warmth through him. He slowly slid his hand over David’s chest, up his neck, across his jawbone, and finally settled it cupping his partner’s cheek.

David immediately was lost in the sensation and his overwhelming emotions and wants. Now that the floodgates were broken down, he couldn’t stop the rush of everything he’d been repressing for years. Every bone in his body wanted to be closer to Max, to feel his smooth caramel skin against his own. He wanted to run his hands through that mop of crazy black curls that he’d always thought were so adorable. He wanted to kiss every inch of Max’s body, to hold him and whisper every compliment he could think of in his ear. He wanted to tell him about all the times he’d laid in bed late at night and thought about him and wished he was there, about every time he’d let his mind wander too far and let his imagination run wild underneath his clothes.

Max’s hand touching his cheek was like a spark of electricity. David wrapped a hand around Max’s head and wove it through his hair. He pressed his hand gently against the back of his partner’s head, putting more pressure on their lips. Max sighed into their kiss and relaxed his body. He lowered his chest gently onto David’s, letting himself half lay atop his companion. David moved his lips and tilted his head, trying to find ways to deepen their kiss. Max followed his lead, moving his lips against David’s. David moved his free hand to rest on Max’s shoulder blade, and a shiver ran down Max’s spine at the touch.

After several more seconds, Max pulled back gently, in need of air. The duo panted against each other, their faces hardly with any distance between them. David stared at Max in admiration. He’d been afraid to admit it before now, but Max was so beautiful. He ran his hand through Max’s curls, eliciting another sign from his companion. Max placed a quick peck on David’s forehead, then nuzzled against the red-head’s nose.

“Was that a mistake?” he whispered, staring into David’s half-lidded green eyes. David chuckled and grinned softly at the question.

“No moment spent with you is a mistake,” David hummed. A blush spread across Max’s cheeks and his eyes widened in surprise. He had not been expecting such an endearing response.

“I…I’m sorry for being so pushy,” Max sighed, resting his forehead on David’s and closing his eyes. “I’m just tired of lying and skirting around this and pretending we don’t want it.”

“You’ve always been a straight-forward person,” David mumbled, running his nails lightly up and down Max’s back. “You never did stand for people bullshitting you.” Max smirked at the comment, particularly at David’s curse. Even now that he was no longer a camp counselor, the man still rarely cursed. These rare occasions had to be savored.

“Still, I shouldn’t have pushed you.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. But don’t think this wasn’t consensual,” David attempted to reassure him.

“Just…kick me out if I ever do it again.”

“I could never kick you out, Max,” David assured him, placing a quick kiss on his check.

Max groaned and shoved his shoulder lightly. “God, you’re sappy. You’re too nice.”

“You don’t seem to mind,” David teased. Max cocked an eyebrow, surprised by the comment. David hardly ever teased him or was playful; he was just too fucking nice for that. Apparently, Romantic-David didn’t mind a little light, taunting humor.

“Fuck you,” Max scowled, covering his friend’s face with his hand. David laughed underneath him, and Max couldn’t help but feel his frown disappear at the sound.

David gently removed Max’s hand before pressing him down for another kiss. Max forgot all about his tough persona as their lips reconnected. He weaved a hand through David’s fiery hair and let his other run lazily up and down David’s side. David put a bit more urgency behind their kiss, unable to control himself. He lightly bit down on Max’s lower lip, which drew a sharp breath from his partner. Max dug his nails into his shoulder as he bit again. What sounded like a quiet moan died in Max’s throat.

Max broke away suddenly and buried his head between David’s shoulder and head. He planted kisses all across David’s neck, making the older man sigh in content. David ran his fingers lazily through Max’s curls as he went along. He bit and kissed his way to both ends of David’s collarbone, each time drawing a sigh or some other pleased noise from his companion. When he was done, he lifted himself up and stared into David’s eyes. David met his intense gaze and smiled. Then, he shoved Max’s shoulder lightly.

“Go on. Put on some dry clothes and then come to bed.”

Max felt disappointment well up in his stomach at being turned away. Still, if that’s what David wanted, he would oblige. He got up and walked back to the doorway where he’d dropped the pair of dry clothes he’d stolen earlier.

_Wait, did he say “come to bed?”_

Max swiveled back around. David was watching him, a knowing smile on his face.

“That’s right, _come_ to bed,” he reiterated, seeing the gears turn in Max’s head.

Max smirked back at him as realization set in. He wasn’t sure if there was a double-meaning to his words or not, but either way, he was happy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope y'all enjoyed!


End file.
